Beijing: More than 200 hikers remain stranded after a powerful blizzard swept the Tibetan slopes of Mount Everest, while 350 others have been rescued by villagers and emergency teams.
Conditions for those still trapped worsened on Sunday as heavy snow continued to fall. Hundreds of local residents and rescuers carried essential supplies to the remote campsites, which have been blanketed by snow since Friday.
According to a report by state broadcaster CCTV, cited by the BBC, over 200 hikers are still trapped, while around 350 have been safely guided down from the mountain.
Earlier reports suggested that over 1,000 tourists were caught in the blizzard in Karma Valley, on the Chinese side of Everest, the world’s highest peak. Videos and eyewitness accounts shared on social media showed fierce winds and thunder striking the area on Sunday, with relentless snowfall burying trails leading to the camps.
Chinese state media has provided little coverage of the incident so far, and official details remain limited. The country is currently observing an eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which began on October 1.
Mount Everest, known in China as Mount Qomolangma, stands at 8,849 metres above sea level.
In a separate weather event, Typhoon Matmo — the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season — made landfall on Sunday along the eastern coast of Xuwen County in Zhanjiang City, southern Guangdong Province.
Authorities evacuated about 347,000 people from Guangdong and neighbouring Hainan Province ahead of the storm, which packed maximum wind speeds of 151 km/h.
